Darwin 12th May 2011

After 4 months of travel we have finally made it to Darwin. Our hosts were Kerrie, Cameron, Tom and their huge dog Buddy whom the boys just adored…(yes they want a dog now and promise to look after it…Jo is not convinced). They allowed us to set our camper up in their yard and it was great spending time with them all. The boys just loved playing with Tom and their day revolved around when Tom would be home from school as they wanted to be there when he arrived.

Their "resort" had it all…swimming pool, kids club (thanks Tom), female conversation for Jo (thanks Kerrie), beer drinking companion for me (although we did go for a 20km bike ride to compensate), and free BBQ/meal nights…what more could any weary traveller ask for.

We went to Mindil markets which had so much nice Asian food that apart from indulging in a spring roll or 3 I couldn't make up my mind what to have and settled for a chicken yerros instead which was really good. Jo had honey prawns which she used to like 15 years ago before meeting the sugar policeman and they didn't quite live up to what she remembered. The markets were very busy and both Jo and I were both feeling a little flustered being back in a crowded area again and we headed out onto the beach for the sunset. We also managed to catch some of the beach sprints for the Arafura games…I think I could have beaten most of them which is saying more about their lack of pace than how fast I am (not very). The sunset was amazing as the blood red sun dipped down below the horizon. Max and Archie got to look through a telescope at the moon on our way out which they really enjoyed.

The Deckchair outdoor cinema was also a lot of fun…we saw Gnomeo and Juliet which was quite good for a children's movie (you can tell we don't get to the movies very often…any movie will do as long as we get to go) and the boys loved it. Archie walks around reciting lines from the movie (a Robinson genetic gift). His favourite line was right at the beginning when a Gnome appears on the screen and says heeellllloooooo.

We also went to Parap markets on the Saturday morning for more Asian food indecision…just ended up eating 3 spring rolls…there was so much good food there I can't believe that is all I ate…delicious as they were. Apparently when Clint was there that was all he ate as well…not sure what to think of that…genetics at work I guess. Jo and the boys were better at decision making than me and ended up with a smoothie and a crepe.

Max and Archie also really enjoyed the museum with the giant stuffed saltwater crocodile "sweetheart", and a very good display about Cyclone Tracey and a number of other very good exhibits. We ended up going to the museum twice.